Body found in esky in far north Queensland, man charged with murder

A man's body has been found in an esky in bushland in far north Queensland and a man has been charged with his murder.

Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said the remains were yet to be formally identified, but the discovery was made in bushland south of Cairns as police investigated a murder they believe occurred two weeks ago.

David Leslie Hickson, 32, was arrested last night over the murder and appeared in the Cairns Magistrates Court this morning.

He is also accused of misconduct with a corpse.

The men were known to each other and associated regularly together in Cairns.

The victim is believed to have recently moved to Cairns.

Detective Inspector Asnicar said they were not revealing the victim's identity yet because his family still had not been notified.

"We believe the two men did know each other, they were associated regularly in Cairns and other than that I don't want to say any more until we've gone a little bit further into the investigation," he said.

The accused was remanded in custody and is due to reappear on December 17.